For $300, Joan Wright took a three-night bus trip from Winnipeg just to shop this week in the Twin Cities.

She gets the benefit of the weak American dollar, avoids the 13 percent tax she’d pay in Canada and can take back up to $400 in merchandise duty free – and more if the items fall under the North American Free Trade Agreement or if she stays longer than a week.

“It’s totally a steal,” she said, before boarding a bus Thursday at her Minnetonka hotel to head for Southdale in Edina.

Thank the weak dollar for fueling even more Canadian spending in Minnesota.

“We’re seeing tremendous growth in travel from Canada,” said John Edman, director of Explore Minnesota Tourism.

With U.S. consumers portrayed as heading for hibernation amid recession fears, a spike in spending by Canadians couldn’t come at a better time. They come looking for coffee makers, clothes and shoes. In the border towns, they’re making routine grocery trips for eggs, milk and Velveeta cheese, which costs nearly half as much in the United States as in Canada.

Minnesota tourism officials and Twin Cities malls advertise heavily in Manitoba and Ontario to encourage more road trips. About a half-million visitors annually travel to the Twin Cities from Canada. Total spending by Canadians was up 21 percent last year in Minnesota and business and convention spending shot up 70 percent, according to Statistics Canada for Explore Minnesota Tourism.

The Mall of America estimates a 10 percent increase this year in Canadian visitors, who make up the largest group of international shoppers. In the next couple of months, a mall representative will head to Winnipeg to network with travel agents.

While Canadians for years have been at a disadvantage when spending in the United States, the weak U.S. dollar has changed that equation. Five years ago, a Canadian dollar was worth less than 65 U.S. cents. But the Canadian currency, nicknamed the loonie, has become stronger as the dollar has fallen amid weaker economic growth in the U.S.

Then, in September, Canada’s dollar pulled even with its U.S. counterpart for the first time in 30 years. At times, the once lowly loonie has even bought more than $1 worth of goods here, providing an automatic discount.

“With this change in the dollar, we’re going to see much more travel than we’ve seen in recent years,” said Bill Deef, vice president of tourism for the “Meet Minneapolis” visitors association.

Subtracting taxes they would pay at home and figuring that prices for many goods here are lower to begin with, shopping in Minnesota becomes a real bargain.

While tourists from Scandinavia, England and Japan also are shopping more in the Twin Cities because of automatic discounts resulting from the weak dollar, Thunder Bay and Winnipeg residents have always hit the road to the Twin Cities for theater, baseball and hockey games, as well as treks to the Mall of America.

It was only last month that Embassy Tours began booking shopping-only bus tours, sparked by the weakening dollar. “We came down with two full coaches of 110 people and had a waiting list,” Kupiak said.

Mike and Minnie Chaikoski, of Winnipeg, took the shopping tour this week to celebrate their 61st wedding anniversary. She had another agenda. “I want to see Ikea,” she said.

For Tanya Buors, of St. Laurent, Manitoba, the shopping trip was a birthday present for her 8-year-old daughter and the cost of the bus-hotel deal beat any alternatives. “It’s cheaper to do it this way,” she said.

The strength of the loonie is sure to keep the influx of Canadian shoppers going strong, at least for a while. Retailers north of the border are under pressure to reduce prices, which tend to be higher due to transportation costs and other factors. For now, though, the price gap is keeping cash registers humming in Minnesota.

“Our retailers are having a good season and we’re very thankful,” said Betsy Jensen, president of the International Falls Area Chamber of Commerce. “It’s bittersweet because we don’t know what’ll happen next year.”

Gita Sitaramiah can be reached at 651-228-5472 or gsitaramiah@pioneerpress.com.

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